2 Warrington Crescent, London, United Kingdom | (888) 710-7049
Housed in an elegant
Victorian property with lavish interiors
Birthplace of
Alan Turing, and there's a long list of celebrity guests
Set in a leafy and
peaceful neighborhood near Little Venice
Two minutes' walk to nearest Tube station
Sumptuous suites
with mezzanine levels and four-poster beds
All rooms have Frette Egyptian cotton sheets, luxury toiletries, and minibars
Free basic Wi-Fi throughout (faster speeds with unlimited data transfer come with a fee)
Old elevator can
be unreliable
Some rooms look worn and dated
No spa or fitness facilities
Expensive dining
The Colonnade is
an upscale boutique hotel set in a Victorian property that oozes history and
traditional elegance. Its Maida Vale setting is particularly pleasant while the nearby Tube connection makes getting into town easy -- gorgeous Little Venice
is also just around the corner. While some rooms might look a little worn, amenities include personalized business cards on arrival, Frette Egyptian cotton bed linen, and luxury toiletries; suites are particularly sumptuous. Rates might seem high, but there's little to compare it to in the area, and The Colonnade makes for a quintessentially English place to stay.
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Scene
Elegant Victorian hotel with homey though lavish interiors and notable history
Dating back to
1865, this elegant Victorian property has been through several incarnations --
including boarding school, private apartments, and even a hospital -- before
becoming The Colonnade in 1944. As well as being the birthplace of
mathematician Alan Turing, the hotel has had a long list of notable guests, including Sigmund Freud and, more recently, Christian Slater and Woody Harrelson.
The boutique property still very much maintains the look and feel of a private,
albeit lavish, 19th-century residence, stuffed with antique furnishings,
gilt-framed mirrors, and plush tasseled sofas and draperies -- there's even a
resident cat. The hotel's elevator is also one of the oldest operating lifts in
the U.K., and it services all but the top forth floor -- though its age means it's
occasionally out of order and stairs are fairly steep.
Location
Upmarket, leafy West London neighborhood a few minutes' walk to Little Venice
The hotel is located
on the corner of a quiet residential street in the leafy and upmarket Maida Vale
area of West London. A couple of blocks away are the picturesque canals and barges of Little Venice -- one of
the capital's prettiest neighborhoods. The Warwick Avenue Tube station is about a five-minute walk away and offers convenient access via the Bakerloo Line, which connects to
the city center (Oxford Circus) in 12 minutes. West London's main train
terminal, Paddington Station, is one stop away, with
connections throughout the capital and beyond.
Rooms
Classical rooms blend traditional style with mod cons and luxury touches
Because of the age of
the building, most of the hotel's 44 rooms vary in shape and size, but all follow the similar theme of classical English decor with traditionally styled
furnishings. Though some of the superior rooms have a more modern take on the
traditional, others are starting to look a little dated and even old-fashioned.
In-room amenities blend old-school -- personalized business cards, free
shoeshine, trouser press -- with minibars and plenty of tech, including flat-screen TVs, CD
players with music library, and free Wi-Fi (faster unlimited data uploads come with a charge).
Luxury touches also include Italian-made Egyptian cotton sheets, robes and
slippers, and Gilchrist & Soames bath products -- though some of the bathrooms, which have shower/tub combos, could use sprucing up. Suites, however, are particularly sumptuous, with
mezzanine floors and four-poster beds.
Features
Good breakfast service, afternoon tea, and refined -- if expensive -- dining
The Colonnade serves
a full and tasty breakfast each morning -- guests can choose from a
continental buffet, full English, or cooked-to-order eggs -- American-style
pancakes are also on the menu. The restaurant also offers afternoon tea as well
as an evening menu -- while the food is good it's expensive. There's also a
lobby lounge where visitors can sink into plush armchairs while enjoying a
quintessentially English moment with a copy of The Times newspaper and a cup of
tea.
